Folding machine



5 Sheets-Shree?l l om. mm

INVENTOR ,WM-hf@ ATTORNEYS arh 22 1949. c. s. MALO-r1, .JR

" FOLDING MACHINE Filed June k\l'?, 1946 CLIFTON s. MALOTT JR.

wv. hm mm March 22, 1949. c;-` s. MALOTT, JR 2,464,823

FOLDING MACHINE Filed June 17; 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.- 2

INVENTOR CLIFTON S. MALOTT JR.

A ORNEYS March 22, 1949. c. s. MALOTT, JR v 2,464,823

FOLDING MACHINE Filed June 17, 1.946 5 sheets-Sheet 3 P l L l' YINVENTOR CLIFTON S. MALOT`I JR.

ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 22, 1949 FOLDING MACHINE Clifton S. Malott, Jr.,Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The American Laundry Machinery Company,Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application .lune 17, 1946,Serial No. 677,366

(Cl. 27o- 80) 7 Claims.

This invention relates to folding machines for cross folding flatarticles made of textile fabrics, such as sheets, towel-s, pillowcasesand the like. It has to do with those parts of the machine whichcontribute the folding operations by appropriate draping, laying orarrangement of the article with respect to the blade which introduces itto the folding rolls or other folding devices.

One object of the invention is to generally improve the construction andarrangement of the folding mechanism to reduce or avoid shock, jar andvibration and provide a machine which is quiet in operation and accuratein it-s selection of the desired folding lines.

Another object is to provide improved means for holding or clamping thework to prevent or avoid disturbing the lay.

Still another object is to provide improved folding mechanism includinga vibratory blade or bar over which the article is draped, together withmeans for clamping the work to it during the draping operation and forreleasing it as the folding rolls become effective.

A further object is to provide improved means for yieldingly restrainingadvance of the trailing end of the Work in such manner as to prevent asmall article from prematurely slipping off from the feeding roll on itsWay to the folding mechanism.

Another object is to provide improved folding mechanism in which theleading portion of the article is fed between clamping jaws which closeupon it and one of which serves as a supporting bar over which the workis draped, and by means of which it is introduced to the foldingdevices.

Further objects of the invention in part are obvious and in part willappear more in detail hereinafter.

In the drawings, which represent one suitable embodiment of theinvention, Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation, on the line Ii, Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig..2 is an end elevation, the view being taken from the right in Fig.l;

Fig. 3 is a detail plan view of the work supporting and clampingdevices;

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional elevation on a larger scale, on the line4-4, Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detail plan view, looking in the direction of the arrows, onthe line 5-5, Fig. 4;

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are diagrammatic views corresponding to Fig. 4, andshowing the several steps in the draping and folding operation;

Fig. 9 is an end elevation of a folded article; and

Fig. 10 is a detail sectional elevation, taken on the line Ill-I0, Fig.1.

While the present folding machine may be arranged and operated as adistinct, self-contained unit, entirely independent of other machines ordevices, with the work to be folded fed to the machine by hand, thedrawings illustrate it employed in cooperation with a flat work ironerconventionally indicated at il) and provided With the usual endless Workdelivery tapes or belts II traveling over rolls I2 mounted in arms I3pivoted to the main frame at I4. These arms are supported by eccentricsI5 which during rest periods, as at lunch time, may be rotatablyadjusted, say or so, to lower the arms and move the tapes or aprons awayfrom the hot chest to avoid burning or charring them, all as iscustomary. When the arms are up, in their normal operating positionshown, the tapes deliver the ironed articles to the work-receiving tapesor aprons of the folding machine, now to be described.

The folding machine may be of single lane or multiple lane form, and isshown as a multiple lane machine, one lane only of which will bedescribed. The line A-A, Fig. 2, indicates the plane of division betweenthe two lanes. Two streams of articles may be permitted to flow throughthe machine, one in each lane, articles in each stream being foldedindependently of those in the other stream, but a wide work piece, suchas a bed sheet, will overlap two or more lanes, in which case thoselanes work together as a unit, by proper coordination of theircontrolling, timing and folding devices.

The folding machine shown comprises a suitable frame, marked generally I6, including legs I1, cross rods I8, channels I9, one or more supportingplates 20, and an outer shell or casing 2|.

Each lane of the machine is provided with folding mechanism as follows:

In suitable bearings on plates 20 are journalled ribbon rolls 22, 23,24, and on extensions 25 of said plates, rolls 26, 2'I, 28, 29 aroundwhich travel three sets 3U, 3|, 32 of endless ribbons or tapes whichconvey through the machine the articles to be folded therein by anysuitable folding devices, such as upper and lower folding rolls 33, 34.Sprockets (not shown) and a system of chain-s indicated by the dot-dashlines 35, 36, provide coordinated drive for all of the belts from a maindriving shaft 3'I, a sheave 38 on which is connected by belt 39 to themotor 40. Articles ironed in the ironer I0 are delivered by its beltsI'I upon the upper stretch of the upper tapes 30, are carried thereby tothe right in Fig. 1, are then delivered to the second set of tapes 3|and carried to the left, and are then carried to the right by tapes 32,where they travel between curved resilient; pressure members, shown asiingers 4I, 42, the free ends of which extend downwardly in alternationwith each other (Fig. 10) to apply a light frictional drag on anyarticle passing between them, for a purpose which will later appear.

The pressure fingers 4I ,42 terminate just above and in front of theentrance to or bite between the folding rollers 53, 34, into which thearticle to be folded is advanced by folding means of the same generaltype shown and described in Letters Patent No. 1,607,407 grantedNovember 16, 1926, to W. F. Mayer, for Sheet folding machine. That is tosay, the machine includes a swinging 01 vibratory member over which thearticle is draped and which advances it into the bite of the rolls.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the bar 43, made of wood, supports a sheetmetal blade 44, both extending crosswise of the machine and lying insuch position that the edge of the blade is presented toward the foldingrolls. Bar 43 has a concave rear surface to provide a clamping seat 43aand serves as a clamping jaw for cooperation with clamping devices,shown as rubber rings or sleeves 45 mounted at intervals upon a clamprod 45, which serves as the second jaw.

Bar 43 is mounted upon the upper end of three rigid arms 41, mountedupon a pivoted cross rod or shaft 48 and the center one of which isprovided with a second arm 49 carrying a counterweight 59 lying above aroller 5| which isactuated by cam 52 on a shaft 53 driven by chain 54from the main driving shaft 31.

Rod 45 is mounted in blocks 55, one at the upper end of each of twocurved leaf springs 5B fastened at their lower ends to the end arms 41.Each of said `blocks has pivoted thereto a rod 51 extending rearwardly,away from the folding rollers, and having its rear end provided with adepending hooked end portion 53 engaged over ya cross rod 59 andpreferably cushioned, as by a short piece of rubber tubing 59a, toreduce shock and noise. Springs 55 are of such shape and tension and areso mounted as to always tend to move clamping rod 45 toward its seat inthe clamping recess 43a of rod 43.

Shaft 53 is rotated intermittently by suitable half revolution clutchmechanism, indicated conventionally at 69 and controlled by timingmechanism or devices, similarly indicated at 6I, Fig. 2. The clutch andtiming devices may be of any suitable construction and form no part ofthe invention, and therefore require no detailed description. Onesuitable clutch mechanism is shown in the Mayer patent above referredto. The timing device may be electrical and include electronic devicessuch as shown in Letters Patent No. 2,374,779, granted May 1, 1945, toJohn E. Preston for Sequence timer and measuring control. It is suicientto say that these devices here include one or more timing contactfingers 62, 63, past or between which the work is carried by one of thesets of tapes, vand which therefore .are sensitive to the time ofpassage of the lead- 'ing and trailing edges of the article, and ,thusto its length, which contacts so aiect or actuate the timer as to causeclutch operation at the proper times to produce the necessary foldingoperation.

Fig. 9 illustrates an end View of an article B folded in this machine,`The fold is what may Vbe termed a half Aand quarter fold, in the sensethat the article is rst folded at its quarter point and then at the midand three-quarter points. The timing mechanism takes care of theproduction of such folds in the article, regardless of its length, inthe manner described in the Preston patent referred to, while the mannerof'pro.-

ducing the fold is described in the Mayer patent. That is to say, whilethe folding bar lies in its advance position, at or in the bite of thefolding rolls, the leading end of the article is permitted to descendbehind it. When about one-quarter of the article has descended, the barmoves back, carrying the article with it and the second and thirdquarters of the article are draped over and descend as a loop in frontof the bar, whereupon it advances and carries the quarter andthreequarter points of the article (superposed now at a fold lat theleft in Fig. 9) into the bite of the folding rolls. Upon discharge fromthe rolls the article has received a double transverse fold with itsedges coinciding.

Figs. 1., 4 and 6 show the parts in the positions they occupy just afterone article, such as a sheet, has been folded and another is advancinginto position to be draped and folded.

The clamping jaws 43, 46 are opened or separated from each other,because cam 52 has elevated arm 49 and moved arms 41 to the right inFig. 1 and to the left in Fig. 4, but the stop hooks 58 have engagedcross rod 59 and restrained fulladvance of rod 46. But the gap betweenthe jaws is comparatively narrow. Thus, the approaching leading end ofthe article to be folded emerges from between the pressure fingers 4l,42 and is guided or directed by them into the narrow gap between theclamping jaws in the manner shown in Fig. 6, until approximatelyone-.quarter of the length of the article has passed the folding blade44. At this particular instant the half revolution clutch mechanism,half revolution operation `of which has been initiated by the timingmechanism, causes arm 49 t0 descend and arms 41 to move to the right inFigs. 4 and 6. Jaw bar 43 almost immediately engages jaw rod 45, so thatthe work is quickly clamped between the two jaws, the swinging motion ofarms `41 continuing until the parts reach the position shown in Fig. 7,rod 51 sliding over rod 59 in the manner shown. Quick clamping, in themanner described, prevents slipping or displacement of the work on thedraping or folding bar as it moves away from the folding rollers. Feedof the advancing article by the tapes of course goes on continuouslywithout interruption, and the advancing article now descends in front ofthe blade 44, in loop form, instead of behind it, as shown in Fig. 7.The half revolution clutch mechanism, including shaft 53 and cam v52, ofcourse is idle while this is going on. Finally, when approximately thethree-quarter point of the article reaches a position abreast the edgeof the folding blade, the timing mechanism again sets the clutchmechanism into operation, causing arm 49 to rise, tilting arms 41 to theleftI in Fig. 4, and ladvancing the article, in its folded and drapedcondition, into the bite between the folding rolls, which squeeze andcompress the folds and make them more or less permanent, as the articlepasses between them. As arms 41 advance, the stop hooks 58 engage l rod59 and restrain further advance of the jaw rod 46, thus releasing thearticle from the clamping effect.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 1G, pressure fingers 4I arenarrow, curved strips of thin resilient material. Although metal may beemployed, one suitable material is fabric impregnated withheat-resistant plastic substance, known in the trade as Formica,although other plastic or fabric materials may be employe.. Thesefingers are flexible and resilient, but are formed to a fixed shape asshown. They lie in recesses between the ribbons and are mounted in afixed position close to the roll but barely touching it. They areusually about one-half inch wide and of a thickness which brings theirouter surfaces in a plane with or just slightly below the outer surfacesof the ribbons. The free ends of said ngers which extend below the roll,as shown, therefore cause them to act as strippers for the work,preventing articles passing through from clinging to and following theroll surface. They also each form one side of a narrow channel, incooperation with finger t2, for directing the articles downwardlybetween the folding blade and the clamping mechanism.

The other lingers 42 usually are made of thin metal, such as stainlesssteel, formed as shown. They are a little wider than fingers 4i, and ofapproximately the width of the ribbons, or a little less. These fingersare mounted freely on a cross rod and are spaced at intervals along therod to lie on top of the ribbons between the other fingers.

The fact that the ngers 4l lie close to the roll and that fingers #l2lie on top of the ribbons, provides the very shallow or close spacingbetween the two sets which provides the channel described above, withthe weight and pressure of the freely pivoted fingers 42 supplying alight pressure to the articles passing through, particularly thetrailing ends thereof, and preventing the rear edge of each article fromprematurely dropping downwardly away from roll 2d, as it passes over thesame. This insures that short articles, particularly, are properlydraped into four-fold condition for presentation to the folding rolls.

Folded articles passing through the folding rolls travel down aninclined apron Se to a suitable support, such as the table 55.

Since the clamping is effected by gradual and resilient approach of twocommonly pivoted members, there is no jar or pound. Similarly, uponforward movement, springs 5S flex and cushion the blow, while the rubbersheaths 59a reduce sound. The short throw of the blade arms minimizeswhip and vibration.

When the clamping bar le is held away from bar 43, as in Fig. 4, only asmall amount of energy or tension is stored in springs 55, and as thefolding blade 44 moves away from the rolls, this spring energy isgradually reduced until, when the clamping jaws come together there isjust enough force left to lightly clamp or hold the article. Thus anypossible shock on impact of the work clamping members is reduced to aminimum.

For similar reasons the reactive force applied to the clutch and otherparts of the half revolution mechanism, during an operating cycle ofsuch mechanism, is also reduced to a minimum, lightening or reducing theclutch load and producing quick and reliable response thereof to a callfor its operation.

The construction described insures very accurate draping of the articlesupon and between the clamping jaws, regardless of the length of thearticles, and insures their introduction into the folding rolls withoutwrinkles and in such manner as to produce a neat fold with all edges andfolds in line with each other. The machine as a whole operatesautomatically, without any attention by the operator, and shock and jarand wear and tear, as well as sound, are reduced to a minimum. Thus theapparatus is durable and has a long life before adjustments and repairsbecome necessary.

Further advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art.

What I claim is:

1. A folding machine, comprising a frame, cooperating folding rollsmounted thereon into the bite of which work to be folded may beadvanced, a support movably mounted upon the frame and carrying anelongated folding bar extending parallel to said rolls and movable backand forth with said support along a path in a direction transverse tobar length and toward and from the bite of said rolls, means for feedinga sheetform article in a plane parallel with the axes of said rolls andintersecting said path, whereby during advance and retreat of said baran article is draped upon it and is so delivered to said rolls forfolding, and a clamping member movable with said bar and cooperatingtherewith for clamping the article to the bar while draping it thereon.

2. A folding machine, comprising a frame, cooperating folding rollsmounted thereon into the bite of which work to be folded may beadvanced, a support movably mounted upon the frame and carrying anelongated folding bar extending parallel to said rolls and movable backand forth with said support along a path in a direction transverse tobar length and toward and from the bite of said rolls, means for feedinga sheetform article in a plane parallel with the axes of said rolls andintersecting said path, whereby during advance and retreat of said baran article is draped upon it and is so delivered to said rolls forfolding, and a yielding clamping bar biased toward and movable with thefolding bar for clamping the article between said bars While draping itthereon.

3. A folding machine, comprising a frame, cooperating folding rollsmounted thereon into the bite of which work to be folded may beadvanced, a support movably mounted upon the frame and carrying anelongated folding bar extending parallel to said rolls and movable backand forth with said support along a path in a direction transverse tobar length and toward and from the bite of said rolls, means for feedinga sheetform article in a plane parallel with the axes of said rolls andintersecting said path, whereby during advance and retreat of said baran article is draped upon it and is so delivered to said rolls forfolding, and a clamping member movably mounted upon said support andyieldingly biased toward and cooperating with said bar for clamping thearticle to the bar while draping it thereon.

4. A folding machine, comprising a frame, cooperating folding rollsmounted thereon into the bite rof which work to be folded may beadvanced, a support movably mounted upon the frame and carrying anelongated folding bar extending parallel to said rolls and movable backand forth with said support along a path in a direction transverse tobar length and toward and from is draped upon it and is so delivered tosaid rolls for folding, a clamping member movably mounted upon saidsupport and yieldingly biased toward and cooperating with said bar forclamping the article to the bar while draping it thereon, and

loperating devices for releasing the clamping member from clampingrelation with the bar as the article ,to be folded nears the rolls,thereby to release the article for folding.

5. A folding machine, comprising a frame, cooperating folding rollsmountedthereon into the bite of which work to be folded may be advanced,a support movably mounted upon the frame and carrying an elongatedfolding bar extending parallel to said rolls and movable back and forthwith said support along a path in a direction transverse to bar lengthand toward and from the bite of said rolls, means for feeding a-sheetform article in a plane parallel with the axes of said rolls andintersecting said path, whereby during advance and retreat of said baran article is draped upon it and is so delivered to said rolls forfolding, a clamping member movably mounted upon said support andyieldingly biased toward and cooperating with said bar for clamping thearticle to the bar While draping it thereon, and operating devices forstopping advance of the clamping member as the advancing folding barnears the rolls, thereby to release the article for folding.

6. A folding machine, comprising a frame, cooperating folding rollsmounted thereon into the bite of which Work to be folded may beadvanced, a support movably mounted upon the frame and carrying anelongated folding bar extending parallel to said rolls and movable backand forth with said support along a path in a direction transverse tobar length and toward and from the bite of said rolls, means for feedinga sheetform article in a plane parallel with the axes of said rolls andintersecting said path, whereby during advance and retreat of said baran article is draped upon it and is so delivered to said rolls forfolding, a clamping member movably mounted upon said support andyieldingly biased toward 8 and cooperating with said bar for clampingthe article to the bar while draping itthereon, and means operated bytravel of said support for rendering said bias ineffective as thearticle nears the bite of the rolls.

7. A folding machine, comprising a frame, cooperating folding rollsmounted thereon into the bite of which work to be folded may be advancedby generally horizontal movement, a support movably mounted upon theframe and carrying an elongated folding bar extending parallel to saidrolls and movable back and forth with said support along a path in adirection transverse to bar length and toward and from the bite of saidrolls, means lying above said path for releasing a sheet-form articlefor downward motion in a generally vertical plane parallel with the axesof said rolls and intersecting said path, friction means effective uponthe article for retarding its downward motion, and a yielding clampingmember movable with said folding bar and cooperating therewith for`clamping the article to the bar while the latter moves back and forthto drape the article upon it.

CLIFTON S. MALOI'T, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 775,920 Hess Nov. 29, 19041,104,663 Groom July 21, 1914 1,766,789 Mayer June 24, 1930 1,766,791Mayer June 24, 1930 2,275,964 Johnson Mar. 10, 1942 2,355,105 PrestonAug. 8, 1944

